


To Tell the Secret Past

by SolNiveAngelo (Mogadorian_Wolf)



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/F, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-21
Updated: 2017-05-25
Packaged: 2018-09-01 07:59:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,365
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8615974
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mogadorian_Wolf/pseuds/SolNiveAngelo
Summary: Harry is not the son of James and Lily but of Severus and James. He is also not human. He is a Draconian, like his parents.Draconians are a race of dragons that gained human shape. They have Alpha and Omega relationships. They are were hunted by wizards to almost extinction. Voldemort wanted to help change how things were in the Wizarding World by giving Draconians power, this is why the Draconians joined him.James and Severus join Voldemort with Sirius, Remus, and Lily. James becomes pregnant and goes into hiding with Lily for protection. Voldemort is tricked into attacking the house and while trying to kill little Harry, ends up killing Lily. James disappears and is presumed dead with Voldemort. The movement falls, and Dumbledore takes Harry, altering Severus, Sirius, and Remus's memories to forget.Harry comes into his inheritance at 16 and receives a timed letter for that day from James explaining who and what he is.Draco is a Draconian. He believes that when he awakens he will be Alpha. He is wrong.





	1. Prologue: That Night

**Author's Note:**

  * In response to a prompt by [RedHimiko18](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RedHimiko18/pseuds/RedHimiko18) in the [HPprompts](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/HPprompts) collection. 



> So the chapter after this will be when Harry first starts school and then it'll start alternating between that story line and the far past that leads up to what happened that night that nobody can really remember.

The sound of the door to their secret house being shattered open rang through the little house. James’s heart stuttered, and he saw Lily’s eyes widen in front of him. They knew it was a possibility, but they had felt safe here, had let their guard down. It was hard to truly imagine anyone wanting to intentially inflict harm on a child who was little more than a year old. So for one moment, they both remained frozen in stunned silence. Harry was in the other room, sleeping in his crib.

                Lily recovered first, tossing the little red sweater she’d been crocheting for Harry aside as she ran back toward him. James moved to follow her but stopped when he heard a little girl’s voice happily cry from near the broken door, “Daddy!”

                He ran toward the little girl, Penelope, grabbing her just as the figure of Lord Voldemort strode past them, not paying any attention to them as he made his way to the room Lily ran to. Unease rippled through James. The brief glance he’d gotten of the Dark Lord’s eyes seemed hazed and broken. It wasn’t like him to ignore Penelope either.

                “Lily!” James screamed in a half warning as he ran after Lord Voldemort. They hadn’t been prepared for this of all things.

                Penelope sensed his fear and started crying just as he rounded the corner. Lord Voldemort had his wand pointed at Lily who stood in front of Harry. It was like an unreal nightmare as Lord Voldemort spoke emotionally, “Move out of the way Lily. I’m not here to kill you; I only want the boy.”

                “No.” Tears glistened against Lily’s skin as she shook her head. “Tom, this isn’t you.”

                “Daddy, Daddy, Daddy,” Penelope chanted, just as upset as her mother. She looked up at James as if he would have an answer. “What’s wrong with Daddy?”

                “I don’t know,” he whispered, not even daring to creep closer to the scene playing before him.

                Lord Voldemort pushed Lily aside and pointed his wand at the helpless infant. The killing words. A green light. Horror filled James. And them somehow Lily got between the light and little Harry, falling dead in an instant. Her fall to the ground seemed to stretch, impossibly so, in perfect silence, and then she hit, and the noise poured in at once. Lily and Harry started crying in loud screams. Lord Voldemort let out a wail to compete falling to his knees beside Lily, his illusion of a pale skin creature falling to reveal a more human look.

                James gathered his courage to finally move into the room, whatever had been holding Lord Voldemort in its grasp seemed to have fallen away. Tom looked up at him, undisguised anger and hatred in his eyes as he held Lily’s dead body to his chest. “They said that Harry was the key to killing all of us at once- that as long as he lived we could never be free. They promised the Ministry would change its laws with Harry dead. And now Lily’s dead.”

                “You should know better than to listen to empty words,” James told him softly.

 

                When Dumbledore arrived, the child was clasped tightly to Severus’s chest, and the house in question looked like it had been through a fire it had barely won against. He was surprised to see that only Remus and Sirius stood on either side of the grieving father. Severus seemed to be shell-shocked after having lost his mate. Dumbledore had expected to find Lucius standing amongst the group, wrapping Severus up like he did as they were children. He was almost more protect of Severus than he was of his own family, but then again Lucius had been caught calling Severus his baby brother though they weren’t related.

                “Professor Snape.”

                Three pairs of wary eyes snapped toward him, and Severus’s hold on the child shifted. The little head turned the opposite way, and Harry let out a content little sigh, apparently fast asleep despite the tragedy he must’ve witnessed. All gazes went to the child, and Severus seemed to soften a little, looking at the infant like he was Severus’s world. Why wasn’t Lucius here?

                “I’m not letting him go. He’s all I have left of James. I won’t lose him,” Severus warned him, and Dumbledore wondered why they seemed so suspicious of him. He had never been against change in the ministry on the treatment of Draconians; he just hadn’t supported the way Voldemort went about trying to get change.

                “You may not have a choice. The Ministry believes Voldemort to be dead. They’re rounding up all his Death Eaters.” Remus’s eyes widened as he realized what they would mean. “They’ll crack down on Draconians ever harder now. The child will be safer with me, hidden away from his heritage,” Dumbledore started out.

                “So he can be denied the truth- turn him into an obedient wizard’s lap dog?” Sirius snarled, cutting into Dumbledore’s speech. Remus was barely able to restrain him, and through gritted teeth he gave his own softer growl, “Continue.”

                “There are already rumors spreading that the boy’s defeated Lord Voldemort. If it were to come to light that the child is a draconian as well… the ministry would try not only to hide his heritage, but to take it. As powerful as you are, you don’t have the reputation to protect him from other wizards,” Dumbledore reminded them.

                Severus had his wand out in the next beat pointed right at the wizard. His eyes were hard as he growled, “You want to take my son.”

                For a moment the two men stood just like that. Then the child opened his eyes, briefly glowing the gold of a Draconian despite his too young age. They died down to a more normal green, and he buried his face back into Severus’s chest. Severus looked down at the sleeping child, and that was all Dumbledore needed. He cast an immobilizing charm just as other wizards landed.

                He quickly and gently pried Harry out of Severus’s arms. If the other wizards saw there might be a fuss. Voldemort had given the Draconians an even worse rep, but as he turned to face the new audience, he saw they were his people.

                Moody looked at the frozen lot with a suspicious eye. Mineviera seemed upset by the sight as well. Only the new recruit seemed unsure. He was sure he’d be hearing about this later in his office, but leaving him surrounded by such marked men would only be signing the child’s death warrant, and he intended to keep the child safe from both the wizarding world and the muggle world.

                He strode confidently past them. “Question them to see if you can find out what happened. Someone’s cast a blocker over the area to keep anyone from reading what happened.”

                “What are child?” Nishi Indira asked as Dumbledore cradled the young Draconian to his chest.

                “Forget he ever existed.”

 

“Professor Dumbledore,” Nishi addressed, waiting for the old wizard to face her with the sleeping infant still in his arms. “The Draconian don’t know any more than we do. The professor one, Severus Snape, seems to have had his memories tampered with beforehand though, and we didn’t find any signs of James Potter or of the second child.”

Dumbledore nodded. “Voldemort?”

“There’s a pile of ash, but… we don’t think it’s really him.”

Another nod. “Change their memories. I don’t want them remembering anything that could lead them to the child, and I don’t want them to remember anything about tonight- for their own sakes. Then let them go.”

“Sir… you could get in trouble with the ministry for this. They’re wanted criminals.”

               Albus gave the young witch a sad smile. “They’re only survivors fighting against a terrible injustice done to their people, Nishi. I won’t lose one of my best teachers over a mistake, and he won’t stay without the other two keeping him grounded. As far as they- and the world- are concerned, James Potter and Lord Voldemort are dead.”

“Are they really?” The young witch pressed looking curious.

Dumbledore turned his gaze on the sleeping infant, the surviving son of James Potter. “I have no idea.”


	2. Setting Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Severus has a nightmare. Harry has his birthday and gets his school supplies.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long to get this up. It seemed to take forever to finish the last part.  
> I realize that at the rate I go it would take forever for Harry to reach sixteen, so I decided to amend how I'm laying out the chapters. Starting with this one, it's going to go from Harry's first year, to before "that night", and then to when Harry turns sixteen and loop back through.  
> Twyla=Penelope. I promise I will address this later in the story, I just thought you might like to know now.

10 years later….

 

_James ran down the hall, heart pounding. He could feel his captor right behind him silently pursuing, knew what was going to happen like he was reading a script, but he kept seeing the young Draconian being torn to bits by a bigger dragon. It was a sport to them, pitting Draconians against Dragons. It was sickening. The latest victim had barely been more than seventeen. Even Regulas had been a couple years older than that when he’d been murdered, when hunters had pierced into his hide. Both eyes had screamed in pain, pleading at James to do something. He was one of the strongest omegas, he should’ve been able to do something._

_He slammed into a random room, locking the door like that could possibly stop his pursuer, but he already felt like he was going to be sick. Why hadn’t he been given the strength of an alpha? Everyone had always thought he was going to be one. Fate just had to throw in the twist that he wasn’t just for laughs. The footsteps stopped right in front of the door, and James scurried away from it as silently as he could, eyes flashing a draconian gold._

_A male voice sighed. “Why do you keep doing this James? We both know how this goes; there is no getting out of our grip. Your lover’s made his location no secret, and it’s only a matter of time before your son’s location is revealed to us as well. One Draconian parent is as good as another to us. And tell me, how long do you think your tiny little alpha will last against a dragon? The betting pool’s all set for that fight.”_

_James sunk to the ground with a barely suppressed whimper. He remembered Severus’s dragon form; he’d always lost in fights against Sirius, the only alpha to try to fight the small alpha. He could only imagine how a fight against a full-blooded dragon would end._

_“You promised you’d leave him alone,” James choked, but his body was already moving of its own accord and unlocking the door. Anything for Severus._

_A cruel smile twisted the man’s face, and he twirled his whip in one hand, his wand tucked away from now. “The deal was we leave him alone if you stay willingly with us, and you running from me doesn’t bode well for that, does it? Turn around.”_

_James shuddered but did exactly as he was told. He was tough; he knew when to give in, unlike so many alphas. As the whip cracked, he, for a moment, selfishly wished Severus was with him, just to put his arms around James, to comfort him._

 

                Severus bolted up in his bed, gasping for air and feeling as if his back had just been struck by a whip. Another dream about James in trouble, calling for him… but James had left him for Lily a little over 11 years ago, and died with her little more than a year later.

                He winced at the thought. It still hurt.

                “Hey Snake! Got to get ready for the school year, right? Might as well start now,” Sirius’s annoying voice taunted right outside’s Severus’s door before he pounded down the stairs to his husband’s arms, no doubt.

                Severus rolled his eyes but threw his legs over the side of the bed and sat there until his heart was completely calm, and he wasn’t as entrenched in the dream. He couldn’t completely pull himself out of it, he never could.

                James had been so scared in the dream, terrified and brave. Sure, Severus had seen James scared before when Sirius had kicked Severus’s ass, but not like he was in the dream. He’d always been so confident, cocky, laughing when Severus couldn't measure up to Sirius in Severus’s memories. It’d always been in the back of his mind that Sirius could have been James’s mate; he’d been a better alpha for sure.  Merlin, how had he ever fallen for James?

                He pushed it briefly aside with a sigh, as he forced himself out of the dark room, not even bothering to change. The fact of the matter was that James had betrayed him in the end- abandoned him. Sirius seemed somewhat in denial about it; he’d changed since they’d been teenagers and seemed to somewhat like Severus.

                “Morning,” Remus greeted as Severus trudged down the stairs to the little kitchen. The table was already set, and Remus was cooking breakfast at the stove with Sirius right behind him.

                Sirius smirked at Severus and snagged a piece of bacon off the plate Remus was preparing. “How are you going to handle going back to school- having to get dressed so early in the morning?”

                Remus turned and hit the back of Sirius’s head before grabbing the plate of bacon to take to the table. “Be nice.”

                Severus gave Sirius a weak glare before plopping in the nearest chair by the table and just staring blankly at it rather than the other two men. It was hard to force the confession out, but the couple were insistent on doing whatever they could to help Severus. “I had another dream of James. He was in trouble.”

                The chair across from him scraped across the floor, and a body flopped onto it. Severus lifted his eyes to find Sirius staring at him. He leaned the chair back, tilting it on two legs in a reckless Sirius fashion. His eyes were locked on Severus, completely serious. “You ever wonder?”

                Remus set a plate of eggs down on the table, before forcing Sirius’s chair back on all four. “You’re going to hurt yourself if you keep doing that, and contrary to what you might think, I do have better things to do than to constantly heal your stupid butt.” He went back to making breakfast, Sirius’s eyes on him with admiration and a soft smile.

                They were cute together, and Remus had grown a bit of a backbone through the relationship. Remus kept Sirius grounded, imposed the order in the house. Severus always thought he’d be a great parent since he’d been corralled into living with them. “Why don’t you two have kids?”

                Sirius jerked, looking surprised at Severus- they’d never touched the subject of children since the war ended and not in Lord Voldemort’s favor. “Any child we have would always be marked. We thought about trying during the war, especially if Voldemort won, but… well you know how that turned out.”

                “He’s being nice,” Remus cut in, dropping a plate of pancakes on the table before taking a seat beside his husband a lot more gently. “I can’t carry. Something about being bitten by a werewolf.”

                “Oh…”

                Remus smiled sadly and shrugged like it wasn’t a big deal. Severus knew it was. He’d been all over James when they’d first gotten together, had secretly loved the thought of having kids with him. Adoption wouldn’t be an option with the couple, either, with Remus’s werewolf condition and the limited Draconian orphans that were still alive. A Draconian could never adopt a normal wizarding child- it was ministry law.

                Sirius snorted. “I like my explanation better.” His attention intensified on Severus. “Do you ever wonder if James is still alive?”

                “He’s dead. There’s nothing more to say.”

                “They only ever found Lily’s body,” Remus pointed out calmly as he poured syrup onto his pancake not even looking up.

                Sirius nodded, looking on the verge on another rage fit. “And you’ve been having dreams of him in danger ever since. You know Draconians have psychic bonds with their mates, Severus. Why don’t you question it? Why not use all those acclaimed smarts of yours to figure out what really happened that night?”

                Severus slammed his hands down on the table making the plates jump. “Because he left me, Sirius! No matter what happened that night it doesn’t change that fact; it doesn’t change what happened. Voldemort died- we lost. There’s nothing else to it. Just leave it in the past!”

                He stormed out of the room, throwing the chair back without care and marching up the stairs to his bedroom, holding back the grief and pain that raged within him only by his carefully constructed shields. Neither Remus nor Sirius followed him up. Everyone in the house knew he wouldn’t actually leave, not until he had to to go back to Hogwarts; he was too attached to the couple.

                A couple moments later there was a gentle knock on the door. Severus didn’t respond, just remained curled up in bed waiting for either the intrusion that would come or a soft sigh and retreating footsteps. The door opened, and Remus’s gentle voice came from the doorway. “Malfoy sent a letter. He wants you to stay with him until school starts; he’s hurt that you chose to live with us instead of him. Apparently he thinks Sirius is too much of a jerk to you still.”

                “He is a jerk,” Severus muttered from under the covers.

                Remus sighed, and his soft footsteps treaded over the carpet before his weight sunk into the mattress beside Severus. “I know you’re mad with him right now, that you don’t like thinking about James after what happened, but he is trying to look out for you in his own way. He wants to believe that his best friend is still alive that you still have your mate.”

                Severus sighed. “He really just wants to prove that he can be better than Lucius. I’m leaving tonight. Don’t count on me coming back this time.”

                Remus laughed softly. “Oh, and Sirius thinks you should tell him that you’re all grown and don’t need your daddy anymore.”

                Severus groaned, and buried his head in his pillow. Nobody was letting that go.

 

                “I’m sorry, Harry, but I won’t be able to take you to get your robes, and wand today. Hagrid, however has kindly taken the duty upon himself,” Dumbledore informed his charge who was buried under no less than three layers of blankets. The sun had already been up for an hour, but Harry was still lounging in bed. If Dumbledore had to have guess he would’ve accused an unauthorized late night visit from his “sister” Twyla. Harry didn’t think he knew about the other young Draconian, but Dumbledore knew it was almost impossible to block her visits.

                From under the covers, Harry huffed. “Have fun, Albus.”

                “Harry,” Dumbledore warned. The newly eleven year old just pulled back the covers to glare at him, and Dumbledore just sighed. Twyla had taken her father’s attitude of not liking him much, and he feared Harry might’ve adopted a couple of her attitudes. It didn’t help that he knew Harry was still upset that all the other supplies had been bought and shipped without Harry leaving the campus; he hadn’t been allowed to leave the campus since Dumbledore had brought him here a little over ten years ago.

                Dumbledore sighed. “Harry, I know-“

                “‘Appy birthday, ‘Arry!” Hagrid boldly called out interrupting Dumbledore’s prepared speech as he entered the accommodating room of the boy-who-lived. Dumbledore wanted the room to be as appealing as possible since Harry wasn’t allowed to roam free on the campus or to see any of the other students.

                “Well I’ll let you two get started on your day,” Dumbledore told Hagrid with a little nod. He had to take care of ministry issues dealing with the boy-who-lived reappearance in the wizarding world no matter how much he felt like he needed to talk to Harry. On his way out of the room, he tossed over his shoulder, “Oh, Harry? I left a present on the table for you. It used to belong to your father. Since you’ll be starting school this year, I thought it might be of some use to you.”

                “Will it help me with sneaking around?” He heard Harry mutter sarcastically, like the kid didn’t know all the secret passage ways in the castle.

                Dumbledore shook his head, halfway in amusement and halfway in annoyance. The child was as hard to tame as his parents had been, getting in as much trouble as James had and excelling at sneaking around with Severus’s snark and genius. Frankly, he was surprised Harry hadn’t needed more medical assistance with his ability to disappear when Dumbledore turned his back for a moment or the number of times Hagrid had been alone with the child. He wasn’t the best child care provider with his obsession with dangerous creatures even if he was incredibly loyal to Dumbledore, and Minerva wasn’t always available to balance it out.

                Speaking of, Minerva was striding toward him with a determined look. Dumbledore gave her a soothing smile. “Ah, Minerva. I was hoping, it you weren’t busy, that you might keep an eye on young Mister Potter when Hagrid takes him to get his robes and wand to make sure he stays out of trouble.

                Minerva gave him a hard look. “You know as well as I do that no matter what we do that child is going to find danger, especially with Hagrid for a care taker.”

                “That is why I wish you to follow them while I deal with the ministry. If Harry does end up in some trouble at least he’ll have some proficient adult supervision,” Dumbledore told her with a knowing smile.

                The head of the Gryffindor house gave him a wan smile, “Of course I’ll look over the boy, Albus. I just sometimes wonder what you’re thinking leaving Harry in Hagrid’s hands. Next thing you know you’re going to somehow hex the sorting hat to get him into my house.”

                Dumbledore gave her a sly smile. “I cannot control what house Mister Potter ends up in, no matter what you might think Professor McGonagall, but I can make your house seem most desirable.”

                “Sometimes you should ask yourself not what you can do but what you should do. At least when you-know-who was around you could bring about the change this world needs.”

                Albus looked off into the distance, remembering his rival that pushed him to be better. Tom had never been a great person, but he had been a revolutionary. “And I have high hopes that someday Tom may return, and this time bring about change in the right way, not through mass murder and chaos.”

 

                Harry tried not to gaze around Diagon Alley in wonder. It was the first time he’d been outside of the Hogwart’s campus even with a glamour charm to hide his scar. Hagrid was looking pleased with Harry’s awe, and a little tabby cat was following them like she belonged. Harry knew it was Minerva keeping an eye on them or rather Harry because apparently he had a list of enemies a mile long.

                “Grand, ain’t it?” Hagrid commented, puffed up with pride.

                Harry nodded enthusiastically, taking in all the stores and lining them up with what he could recall hearing or reading about them. Ahead of them loomed the Gringotts Bank, and Harry almost bounced at realizing that his arrival there would mean being fully open to the wizarding world.

                “Are we going to Gringotts Bank, Hagrid?”

                The tabby cat looked up at the half giant in expectation.

                “Course. ‘Ave to pay for things, don’t we? And a little money for the trolley ain’t a bad thing,” Hagrid told Harry knowingly.

                They calmly strode through the doors and down the line of goblins working. Harry hadn’t seen an actual goblin in person before, but he wasn’t ignorant enough to not know what the creatures were. Learning about the world outside the castle walls was one of his favorite pastimes because then he could plot a way on breaking out if he ever needed to and show Twyla up when she was being an overdramatic idiot.

                “Mister Potter would be likin’ to make a withdrawal,” Hagrid told the goblin at the very end of the line when they approached him.

                The goblin peered down at Harry, and Harry suddenly felt his age acutely because he really wanted Twyla with him. She never seemed to get scared or backed down; she also came up with words like Slythindor and Gryfferin and thought everyone should be using them. Minerva rubbed against his leg, reassuringly. She always seemed more affectionate in cat form.

                “And does Mr. Potter have his key?” The goblin intoned.

                “Oh, got it ‘ere somewhere,” Hagrid said, patting his jacket in search of Harry’s key, and the Goblin turned his attention on the half giant.

                Harry took the lack of attention on him to pick Minerva up and hold her to his chest. She meowed in protest, probably thinking that Harry was the one that needed protecting, not her, but Harry stroked her head and whispered, “It makes me feel better.”

                She settled down in time for Harry to overhear Hagrid trying to whisper to the Goblin, “It’s about you-know-what in vault you-know-which.”

                The goblin nodded and got down from his towering desk to lead them away. For a moment Harry was too focused on the annoyed look Minerva was giving Hagrid to realize he was supposed to follow. Obviously, she didn’t think Hagrid should be running this errand with Harry around even if it was convenient to stop for both. Then again she didn’t think Hagrid should be trusted with secrets, especially ones meant to be kept from Harry.

                Harry looked at Hagrid curiously as they went down to the carts. If a secret was being kept from him, Harry was going to wiggle it out of Hagrid. There were very few things that Harry couldn’t coax from Hagrid’s lips. Of course with Minerva in his arms, Albus would know almost right away that Harry knew, but Harry figured if Albus really wanted to keep it a secret, he wouldn’t have let Hagrid know.

                They climbed into the cart, and Harry held Minerva tightly as they zipped through the tunnels. She meowed in protest, squirming against Harry’s grip. Okay, so she probably had a better idea on if she’d go flying off then he did, but Harry wasn’t going to chance losing his only competent guardian. Hagrid had a habit of getting distracted, especially if dangerous magical creatures were involved.

                “Vault 687,” The goblin intoned as the cart stopped. He got out and turned to Hagrid. “Light please.” Hagrid handed him the light, and the goblin waddled over to the door before handing the light to Hagrid. “Key please.”

                This time Harry handed the goblin the key, while Hagrid startled. “Blimey, ‘Arry! ‘Ow’d you get the key? Could’ve sworn I ‘ad it on me.”

                “You did,” Harry assured him as the goblin opened the vault. He gave Hagrid a sly look while, Minerva buried her tabby face into Harry’s chest with an annoyed cat noise, her tail flicking. She knew exactly how Harry had done it, and that it was far from the first time.

                The vault opened to reveal piles of shimmering gold. Harry eagerly grabbed some coins. He knew that the money he was grabbing was purely for fun spending, since his caretakers would be paying for his school supplies or at the very least compensating him if Hagrid got distracted the same way he had when Harry had found the chamber of secrets a couple years back.

                They hopped back into the cart while Hagrid tried to get the key back from Harry. Harry quite liked the freedom the key gave him and kept it out of reach. Minerva put an end to their battle of wills by putting a paw on the key and pushing it toward Harry. She no doubt thought Harry was a better keeper of something as important as the key to his vault or maybe she just knew Harry would be keeping it one way or another. Harry flashed Hagrid a smug look. Minerva batted the side of his face in reprimanding.

                “Vault 713,” the goblin intoned as they stopped at another vault. Harry perked up, memorizing the number in case it came in handing for prying out other secrets. He loved figuring out secrets that he wasn’t supposed to know.

                “Stay ‘ere, ‘Arry,” Hagrid told him as he got up with the goblin to the vault. This one didn’t require a key, a curiosity that Harry noted from his place in the cart. If Minerva hadn’t been with them, he probably would’ve been able to get a closer look at what was going on, but there were only so many lectures from Albus that he really wanted to sit through, and he knew he’d be reaching his limit on this visit. Instead, he barely got a glimpse of the tiny package before Hagrid slipped it into his coat. The one good thing about Hagrid is that secrecy really wasn’t his strong suit, and from the way Minerva gave Harry a cat glare he knew she had picked up on what he was up to.

                Hagrid got back in the cart beside Harry, and the goblin drove them back without another word spoken from anyone. Harry knew he was going to have to wait until he was out of the bank before he could start pushing on Hagrid’s weak points to get more information about the package he got out of vault 713. The goblin was an unknown factor that could easily interfere. It was a long wait, but Harry had learned patience at a young age unlike Twyla who would probably never know what the word “patient” means.

                Right out of the door, Harry immediately started in, already bursting with curiousity. “The package, Hagrid. It would have to be harmless, wouldn’t it? Albus wouldn’t dare endanger the students of Hogwarts. So it must be for one of our classes, right? Is it one I’m in?”

                “Blimey, ‘Arry. The philosopher stone used in a classroom!” Hagrid stopped with sudden realization as Minerva banged her head on Harry’s arms with a muffled noise that didn’t seem like it should be coming from a cat. “I shouldn’t ‘ave said that.”

                Harry grinned at him triumphantly. “You’re awful at keeping secrets, Hagrid. Why does Albus want the stone? If it was in danger it wouldn’t be good to put in a school filled with unsuspecting children. We can awfully gullible sometimes…”

                “Why, Dumbledore be wantin’ it for… well he be wantin’ it for a special friend. I ain’t saying anymore. Ya already got too much out o’ me. Dumbledore won’t be pleased,” Hagrid scowled keeping his eyes away from Harry. It was one thing he’d learned quickly. He was a sucker for puppy eyes, and Harry had a fair talent in making them (he’d say the best, but he really had no other comparisons). Unfortunately something else caught the half-giant’s eye, something exotic and probably dangerous.

                Harry knew what was going to happen the moment he saw the gleam in Hagrid’s eyes and followed his gaze to see a traveler with a… well Harry didn’t know what kind of magical creature it was, though he had an idea that it probably wasn’t from around here. Hagrid absently patted Harry on the shoulder as he stared longingly at the traveler that was laughing and conversing with several passer-byers. “Ya’ll be fine gettin’ your wand on your own, right ‘Arry?”

                “Oh it’s fine Hagrid. Leave an eleven year old alone in a place he’s never been when he’s been told his whole life that psychopaths are after him. Nothing could possibly go wrong with that plan,” Harry told him, dripping with sarcasm.

                “Wonderful, see ya then,” Hagrid said with wide smile, not even glancing at Harry as he wandered off toward the traveler. Minerva buried her face between her paw with a despairing meow that almost sounded like a moan.

                Harry quirked a smile at her, stroking the top of her head as he muttered. “And the real reason Albus has you watch us comes to light.”

                The tabby cat gave a low meow in agreement. Harry laughed before pushing the door to Ollivander’s open. He knew what kind of wand he wanted, but he didn’t know if he would actually get it. After all, he’d read that the wand chooses the wizard not the other way around.

                Nobody was behind the counter. Harry rang the little bell at the counter, and an old man slid a ladder over to peer around the shelves at Harry. “I knew you’d be coming here Mr. Potter. Why I remember when your parents came here for their first wands- I have no idea where your father James Potter went to get his second wand after he broke it third year.”

                “How’d he break it?” Harry asked confused. He’d never heard of people getting a second wand.

                Ollivander pulled out a wand box, looking it over as he replied unbothered. “I heard it had something to do with a whomping willow, a secret passage, his troublemaking friends. Or maybe it had something to do with a cranberry muffin, a bucket of water, and… glitter. I don’t quite remember. He was always getting into so much trouble that I’m surprised he didn’t end up broke.

                “Here you go. This should do it.” He handed Harry a light color wand that Harry didn’t think was the one he wanted to try, but he took it and gave it a wave anyways. Boxes of wands flew off the shelves. He put the wand back on the counter while Ollivander looked on with shock. “Apparently not.”

                “What if we tried a spruce wand, sir?” Harry volunteered trying to look as innocent as possible. From the way Minerva pawed at his face, it wasn’t exactly working.

                Ollivander gave him a peculiar look, but didn’t say anything just went to fetch some more wands. They went through almost the whole store before they finally found a wand that didn’t blow something up when Harry waved it. That had Ollivander giving him an even peculiar look. “Curious and curiouser.”

                “What is?” Harry asked examining his new wand. It wasn’t exactly what he thought it would be or even what he had wanted it to be, but that probably had something to do with him seeing his future as being Twyla’s partner- equal partner no matter what she said.

                “The phoenix that donated its feather for that wand gave only one other. It is curious Mr. Potter that you should be destined for that wand when its brother gave you that scar?” Ollivander gestured to Harry’s unique lightening scar that was supposed to be glamour.

                He gave the wand maker a hard look, but what slipped out wasn’t what he wanted to say. “What if it was a sister wand?” He wanted to bury his face in his hands in embarrassment. It had just been a passing thought. Harry blamed Twyla peculiar perspective for even thinking of it.

                Ollivander gave him an even odder look. “Whatever makes you happy Mr. Potter.”

                Harry paid for his wand with a straight face and left. Twyla was going to be hearing about her bad influence on Harry’s mind. Outside, Hagrid was still eagerly chatting up the traveler, and Harry smirked, slipping off toward the robes.

                “Oh, look. I’ve lost my chaperon,” he whispered to Minerva as he weaved in between the crowd. Minerva meowed, and Harry continued. “I know. You’re going to tell Albus all about this when you get back. Who do you think he’s going to be more upset with? Me or Hagrid? I managed to keep my main chaperone, even if she is a cat.”

                Minerva let out a low meow that seemed to be an agonized groan of agreement, or at least that’s how Harry interrupted it as he slipped into the robe shop. A blonde boy was already getting his robe, and he looked at Harry like he thought the boy was inferior to him. He looked every part a spoiled brat that wasn’t nearly as interesting as Twyla.

                He was quickly set up beside the vain boy he looked at the cat with contempt. “Is that your familiar?”

                “She’s my bodyguard, chaperon, and eternal scolder all rolled into one. I can’t tell you her name; she’d be insulted. You’ll get to know her later, though. You are going to Hogwarts, aren’t you?” Harry informed him with a bored tone. He’d have to keep an eye on the boy’s face when he found out who Harry’s “familiar” was. It would be entertaining.

                “Of course. It is the best school. Name’s Malfoy, Draco Malfoy,” The other boy introduced with the important air of royalty or what Harry imagined it would be. He had book experience instead of real life up until today if he didn’t count Twyla.

                Harry glanced over him with as much of disinterested air as he could muster. Draco was the first boy his age he’d met and been allowed to interact with. “I’m not sure I’m allowed to tell you my name either, but you can call me Harry. Most people do- well except my sister, but she’s always been a bit unusual. Tries to completely rewrite the English language.”

                Draco gave him a weirded-out look, and Harry smiled. “I don’t get out a lot, but if you stick around, knowing me will be highly beneficial.”

                Draco’s robes were finished, and his mother shuffled him out the door. Harry bit back a laugh as he called out, “See ya around, Draco!”

                Draco gave him a wide eyed stare before his mother got in the way.


	3. Chapter 2: Where it began

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tom gets the Defense Against the Dark Arts Job. Severus starts school, and Lucius saves him from being bullied.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long. I'm going to put this on hiatus until I straighten out the whole time order thing. I have notecards, so hopefully it won't take too horribly long. It also might meant that the other chapters will be changed, but I promise that I won't reduce the number when I do. The prologue should stay the same.

Tom wasn’t a patient sort of man so it was ironic that at 20 he still hadn’t found his mate. Draconians came of age at 16, and a fair amount found their mates right away. Tom happened to be one of the few exceptions which meant either his mate wasn’t of age yet or they were far apart, which was unlikely. He pondered this as he elegantly made his way to the headmaster’s office. There was really no way to know except to be patient and have faith that they would be united soon. Tom wasn’t a patient sort of man.

 “Lemon drop,” Tom told the statue as he stopped in front of the headmaster’s office. School would be starting in a couple days, and he was a little excited especially since he was going to be teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts.

He stepped onto the rising steps as the statue slowly turned with squared shoulders and confidence. Dumbledore had been the one who guided him through the wizarding world and his own awakening as a Draconian. Hogwarts had been his home as a child, and now he was returning to make others feel the way he did about this place. It was strange and exhilarating and intense and weirdly, nostalgic. He was home again.

“Evening Tom,” Dumbledore greeted with his back to Tom and standing in front of his desk. Albus Dumbledore was one of the few people that knew Tom was also Lord Voldemort, though his “dark lord” career was really just beginning so it wasn’t that big of a deal. Yet. He had big plans for the future.

Dumbledore strodeback around his desk and took his seat, gesturing for Tom to make himself comfortable, which he was already doing in the chair across from Dumbledore. It was a room he was probably more familiar with than most people outside of the headmaster. “You do realize that if your… other career choice were to become known there would be trouble?”

“I didn’t plan on advertising,” Tom said evenly, trying to keep from laughing at the thought. He already had a different appearance set out for his dark lord appearances. The secret shouldn’t come out unless someone spilled, especially since he would look less than human.

Dumbledore raised an eyebrow. “I imagine not intentionally, my dear boy, but you’ve always had a flair for the dramatics.”

Tom laughed. “If you’re going to do something, do it with style. Besides, people can be easily intimidated by what they see. You didn’t raise any concern to the board about it?”

Dumbledore hid a secret smile as he lifted his cup of tea. “You were the most qualified applicant for the Defense Against the Dark Arts position. I didn’t see any point in raising any concern, as long you keep it away from the campus and don’t recruit students.”

Tom nodded with grave seriousness. “Of course. My other career was started to protect the children in this place- it would go against my mission. Some of them will already have to defend themselves against the dark arts at an early age.” His eyes sharpened with the hidden jab.

Dumbledore nodded, stroking his beard as he set his tea cup down. “I am trying to move the ministry on their position on such matters, but they are stubborn and set in their ways. It’ll take time. In the meantime I will provide you with a list of the known Draconian children. However, I’m afraid I can only make you head of the Slytherin house when it comes to protecting the children. And do try to keep your basilisk under control while you’re here. Incidents like that do make the board pressure me to shut down the school.” Dumbledore gave him a warm smile despite the warning, and Tom smirked suppressing a laugh.

“She’s here to protect the developing Draconian children. There’s only so much I can do on that front. There’s only so much any of us can do as long as the ministry persists in making it legal to hunt Draconians to death.”

The twinkle died in Dumbledore’s eyes. “Alas, I fear a change like that will take many years- decades even. In the meantime I do expect you to behave.” He narrowed his eyes at Tom who laughed.

“When have I not?” He responded spreading his arms out in an inviting gesture.

Dumbledore was less than impressed. “When your basilisk killed a bullied muggleborn.”

Tom’s gave darkened in shame, and said softly, barely above a whisper. “That was an accident. I didn’t know she was there. Nobody was supposed to die. I just wanted a little company.” Draconians were known to be immune to the deadly aspects of the basilisk because of the mutual beneficial relationship between the two species. Basilisks watched over Draconian young, and Draconians defended endangered Basilisks.

Dumbledore’s eyes darkened at the grief in his previous student’s eyes. “I realize, but I do hope you realize how important it is to keep your friend out of sight. How about the time you turned a professor’s skin polka dotted?”

A little smile pulled at Tom’s lips again, making Dumbledore feel better as he defended his position, protesting; “I was helping him out! He needed more of a presence.”

                “Or when you dared a fellow student to jump into the middle of the mermaid filled lake?”

                “He was picking on one of the younger Draconians. He had it coming. Besides he didn’t have to accept; he did have his own free will,” Tom countered, looking a little lighter with the known banter. For the time he could push aside Myrtle’s death.

                Dumbledore wasn’t done. He was going to get Tom to promise to behave. Rather or not he kept to it was another matter. “Or when you used charms to create wings to give to half of the students for ‘flying lessons?’”

                “You can’t deny I have talent,” Tom pointed out with a wide grin.

                Dumbledore just raised an eyebrow. “And the time you wound up with three tarts dumped on you because you decided to levitate them around you so nobody could take them?”

                “That was first year!” Tom protested with a fierce blush. Dumbledore was the closest thing Tom ever had to a father, and as such he apparently had to bring the embarrassing incidents up. Luckily it never included the time Tom broke down crying at the end of first year in the man’s arms.

                Dumbledore looked amused at Tom’s reaction. “And the time you made all the papers in your classroom fly around?”

                “Okay that time I was just bored. But that’s all in the past. I’ve grown up,” Tom relented.

                “Actually that was three years ago. Right before you graduated,” Dumbledore reminded him.

                Tom glared at him. “Okay. I get your point. I will be a better behaved professor. And I will not be a boring one, either.”

 

                Severus wasn’t going to leave Lily’s side. She was the only friend he had. His mother had been kept from the wizarding world for some reason. She had whispered to him that it had nothing to do with his stepfather, that there were powerful and dangerous people after her- after him. There was a deeper part of Severus that wondered if it wasn’t her way of denying what her husband was.

                Lily was practically bouncing as they boarded the train. She glanced at Severus, and her bright face darkened a little before she took his hand and whispered, “It’s going to be okay, Sev. We’re not going to be separated, and if you’re not alone then they can’t attack you, right?”

                Severus nodded “It’s why Mum remarried, to keep them away.” And to give Severus a father, but he really would’ve been fine without one if it meant he didn’t have to put up with his stepfather, Tobias Snape. He didn’t really even know who “they” were, but if Mum was worried about it, then it was bad, because his mum was the brightest witch or rather draconian- he was still unsure of the difference between the terms- in England.

                They slid into the first compartment that was empty, mostly because a lot of people made Severus nervous. He could handle his mum, Lily, and sometime Petunia who could be a royal brat but didn’t really seem dangerous to Severus like his stepfather did.

                “You know, my mum says that strangers are just friends you haven’t met yet. I bet we’ll make lots of friends at Hogwarts. They’re like us, right?” Lily reminded him, still holding his hand. She had a bright smile that made Severus smile. They were best friends after all.

                “Yeah. Or well sort of. Mum says that having magic doesn’t mean you’re a wizard- or witch- but that you could be something else, like a Draconian- they’re a kind of dragon- and she says that sometimes muggleborns like you can be one, but you won’t know until you’re sixteen. I think. Mum still uses the term witch to describe herself. But everyone will have magic,” Severus corrected

                Lily made a face at him. “You always make things so much more complicated than they really need to be, Severus.”

                He laughed. “You know you like it. You always love learning.”

                The door opened as Lily was wrinkling her nose at him, and a small shy looking brown haired boy peeked in. He was thin, almost sickly looking with ratty clothes falling off of him. Severus thought the boy fit quite neatly into the mousey category as he hesitantly asked barely above a whisper,  “Um… can I, can I sit here?”

                Lily grinned. “Of course. Is it your first year too?”

                Severus didn’t say anything as the mousy boy crept into the compartment with a shy smile. He looked at Severus nervously as he spoke, “Uh- yeah. Both my parents went to Hogwarts, actually. They didn’t talk a whole lot about it with me, but I think dad was in Gryffindor and mom was in Hufflepuff? What about you two?” Severus thought he looked like a hufflepuff.

                “My parents aren’t wizards,” Lily volunteered, looking at Severus with a hesitant smile like she wasn’t sure what that meant in this world. Severus put a protective arm around her. The mousy boy probably wouldn’t judge her for being muggleborn, but he had heard that some wizards looked down on them. It was always possible he’d misread him.

                The mousy boy sat across from them, looking awkward, his gaze was still locked on Severus as he whispered, “What about you?” It was like the other boy thought Severus was in charge.

                “Mum was in Slytherin. I have no idea about my dad. He died when I was really little,” Severus told him, noticing the way the boy kept looking between them, with a preference toward looking at Severus out of the corner of his eye. A suspicion came over Severus. Sometimes wizards with creature heritage could sense others with a heritage lying in wait.

                Lily abruptly stood up and offered their new companion her hand, “Well, I’m Lily Evans, and this is Severus Snape.”

                “Remus Lupin,” He responded taking it and gently shaking it like a gentleman. “So… does this make us friends? I haven’t really had any, before.”

                Severus stared at him, shocked. He thought wizards that grew up in the wizarding world already had friends going to school, and Remus had just admitted to having two wizard parents unlike him and Lily. His creature heritage could’ve gotten in the way, if Severus was right about that.

 Lily just beamed at Remus. “That sounds wonderful! We haven’t really had friends either- just each other.” She looked at Severus with the soft smile of hers that had everyone at school singing about them kissing in the tree. Severus had sulked about that especially when he couldn’t set them straight. He smiled back at her, remembering how she had came and sat beside him afterwards and talked about how they just couldn’t understand their relationship in their small minds.

                “Not true. You had tons of other kids constantly trying to hang out with you. You’re like a ray of light that everyone wants,” Severus muttered, trying to sound sulky, but was still hard pressed not to smile at her.

                Lily just laughed and turned to Remus, explaining, “They liked teasing us, saying we were together despite Severus’s protests, so I didn’t bother with them. He can a bit overprotective and doesn’t like other people very much, as well, but I think he thinks you’re okay. He’s not glaring at you. I dare say he might even like you.”

                “I’ve said nothing of the sort!” he protested, trying not to laugh at how well Lily could read him. She just gave him that knowing penetrating look that silenced the laughter. He slumped his shoulders, sulkily muttering, “But I don’t dislike him.”

                Remus gave him a shy smile, his eyes peeking out from behind his fringe of hair as he softly said, “I’ll take that.” And Severus decided he did like the other boy, enough to attempt a friendship with him like he had with Lily. So of course, par for his luck, it had to be at that moment that trouble came in the shape of two boys their age.

                They swaggered in, and Severus was on his feet between his two companions before he thought about it. His mum always said that some of the draconian instincts started long before they actually awoken, but Severus shoved that thought aside as he glared at the two boys. They looked like the swaggering bullies that messed with him at his old school.

                “What do we have here?” The one with glasses asked, looking at them with what Severus took as a sneer, though he supposed it could also be a smirk.

                “Go find your own compartment,” Severus growled, making sure to keep Lily and his new friend, Remus, behind him. Lily had never been picked on at their old school, but this was a whole other battlefield, and Remus just looked like the kind of kid that would naturally attract bullies. “This one’s taken.”

                The dark haired companion to the boy with glasses, stepped forward, eyeing Severus with a taunting smirk. “Have you ever heard of soap? It’s for cleaning, getting ready of your greasy hair. Hey, James, want to have a bit of fun with this greasy git.”

                Severus tensed, and then Remus was right beside him with his wand out. There was a slight tremor in his hand that he tried to steady. “You’re going to leave him alone.”

                The two boys exchanged a look, before the companion pulled out his wand with a cocky smirk. “I bet you don’t even know how to use it.”

                Remus’s jaw clenched, and his eyes narrowed before he waved his wand, muttering a word Severus couldn’t quite catch. The boy went flying back, and the boy with glasses- James- looked at Remus with wide eyes before running over to his friend. Severus moved to quickly close the door behind them, before turning back to Remus with the beginning of a grin. Remus smiled shyly back.

                “That was cool,” Severus whispered in admiration. He corrected his assumption of Remus being in hufflepuff; he was braver than Severus had originally thought.

                Remus blushed and ducked his head from Severus’s gaze. “You’re my first friend. I wasn’t going to let them hurt you, and my dad taught me quite a few defensive spells.”

                Lily grinned at him, her beaming eyes moving to meet Severus’s. “What did I tell you? He’s going to be a good friend.”

 

                “Get off me!”

                The cry caught Lucius’s attention as he was walking to class. He was used to keeping an ear out for Slytherin first years that were being corner by older students with a hatred for Slytherin house. He quickly detoured the sound, picking up his pace.

                He rounded the corner to see a pale greasy hair boy being held back by a black haired boy while another boy with glasses approached him. Normally it was three against one in these situation, especially when they were in the same grade like this group seemed to be, which gave Lucius an advantage. He felt a smirk tugging at his lips as he confidently strode toward them.

                “Isn’t there a class you’re supposed to be going to?”

                The boys jumped at the sound of his voice and the black haired boy let go of his hostage who looked at Lucius with grateful eyes. Glasses smiled innocently. “We were just making introductions. He seemed to remember us from the train and didn’t seem inclined to give us a second chance to introduce us properly despite being so rude the last time.”

                Lucius swept his gaze between them, like he was really considering what the boy was saying- a Gryffindor, he noted. Two Gryffindors and one Slytherin. One guess on which one the Slytherin was. His smirk grew as he faced the boy with glasses who looked a little more uncertain in the face of an upper year Slytherin.

                “I don’t think so. You’re going to leave this first year alone, and tell all your friends he’s under my protection,” Lucius told him, leaning closer to the one with glasses who took a half step back, looking thoroughly abashed.

                “But he won’t talk to me!” the boy protested. His friend looked disgruntle at that, scowling at Glasses like that wasn’t what he thought was going on.

                Lucius gave him an amused glance. “There are better ways of getting someone’s attention than cornering them in an empty corridor and restraining them. Now get to class. I’m walking Snape to his own class.”

                Reluctantly, the boy with glasses gestured for his friend to follow him, and together they sauntered off, though the friend did spare a glare over his shoulder for Snape. Lucius remembered the greasy dark haired boy from the sorting ceremony. _He’d been standing toward the end of his year with a red haired girl and a mousy looking boy, looking edgy, defensive, and a little skittish. It had Lucius frowning. Narcissa peered into his face, pulling his attention back to his girlfriend._

_“Do you think he’s one of us?” She whispered._

_He turned back to the boy. “I don’t know.”_


End file.
